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This research focuses on integrating BSVs into the Electric Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows (EVRPTW), aiming to minimize travel costs and energy consumption while meeting delivery time windows. This novel approach combines mathematical modeling with optimization algorithms to formulate and solve the EVRPTW-BSV-EC, addressing a gap in existing literature. However, due to their limited range, they must recharge while delivering products to customers along their route. Long recharging times at available stations can hurt route planning, especially when considering short delivery time windows. Therefore, the authors used a swapping van instead of a recharge station. Swapping batteries can decrease recharging times by exchanging the vehicle's depleted batteries with fully charged ones. This research extends the traditional EVRPTW to address the integration of battery-swapping Vans (BSVs) and energy consumption considerations. The objectives of this research include minimizing the total travel cost and reducing overall energy consumption within the defined time windows while considering battery-swapping vans. This research provides tools for a policy planner to measure the effectiveness of battery swaps in the presence of traditional recharging methods for commercial logistics operations The research combines mathematical modeling techniques with optimization algorithms to formulate and solve the Electric Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows, Battery Swapping Van, and Energy Consumption (EVRPTW-BSV-EC). The results show that the additional choice of battery swaps at a swapping van led to better delivery routes, thereby reducing the overall costs, particularly for cases where battery swapping time and battery swapping cost are relatively lower. As far as the author knows, this issue has yet to be tackled in previous literature. Here, a model and algorithm for addressing this problem are introduced, and computational experiments are performed.
Aljabri et al. (2024) studied this question.